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My Daytona experience Part 1

Every year when severe PMS sets in I start planning my annual trip down I95 to Daytona Bike Week. This year winter (and PMS) started in early so by the time March rolled around I was more than ready to go.

For me the big reason to head south is the Iron Butt Association dinner on Friday night. As my travelling companion noted, the IBA is home to some seriously wound-up riders, nowhere is this more evident than at the annual dinner. In addition to the IBA dinner there are many other attractions including some racing, shopping and catching up with old and new friends.

Over the years I have learned that there are two ways to go to Bike Week. One is to ride, the other is to be on a schedule. It is not really possible to do both as weather will have a way to mess up any schedule, unless you are prepared to try to rent a truck on a Sunday afternoon in a blizzard so you can get to work on Monday. Given that showing up at the office sometime Monday is important once again the bikes traveled in the truck.

My trip started with a departure from the office Tuesday to gather my personal physician from his office in Oxford. We loaded up the bikes and went to his house for dinner in anticipation of an early start Wednesday. Being my personal physican (without even going to med school) the Shagger knew that I needed to get my fill of meat before heading south to the land of personal abuse.

We like meat!

After a nice dinner it was off to bed, we had an early start planed for the morning. Our destination for day one would be Clayton, NC. We stopped in and were greeted by JB of Robietech fame.

We have a lovely dinner in Clayton and got a chance to catch up with Dianne Plines, AKA photobiker. Dianne was in a serious accident last spring on the way to the Georgia Mountain Rally. She looked great and is doing well all things considered....

Part Two

Thursday was another early day with a departure by 04:00. We hit a Cracker Barrel for breakfast and had a nice uneventful day on the road. We did start to see plenty of bikes both on trailers and on their own power. It was not too long before we saw our first stupid trailer trick. Here is a picture of a camper trailer that was running with a bunch of riders. None of the bikes were involved but all 50 or so of them decided to park all over the highway that only added to the traffic jam. The trailer had flipped over which jacked up the rear end of the truck.

Once clear of the wreckage we resumed pace and arrived at Holiday Park right around lunchtime. The B-Cubed crew has saved camping for BMW Riders. They not only saved the event but have improved on the Bulow experience. They are accomplishing this with a very small crew. To get an idea of the scale of their effort consider that they put on an event that runs almost three times longer than a 'MOA rally or four times longer than most weekend rallies with very few hands. THANK YOU TO B-CUBED FOR A GREAT TIME!

Here are a few photos from Holiday Park.

The 50-50 crew

The true Coffeemiester. If this guy looks familiar from the 50-50 above it is because from sunrise (probably earlier) to sunset this guy was the glue that made it all work. Amazing effort, my hat is off to you.

My Daytona Experience Part 3

After a few years of going to bike week it gets a little easier, the traffic is avoidable and things just seem to fall into place. This time we learned that out favorite breakfast place was under new ownership and had taken a dive. At bike week breakfast is one of those must have meals, it could end up being the only real meal of the day. The problem is that a large percentage of the other jillion riders also attach the same importance to the morning meal. After two days of road food we decided that it was time go upscale and headed to one of the areas many country clubs for eggs benedict.

Here the Sheepshagger enjoys watching the grandparents take a private lesson.

Mmmmmm...... Breakfast.

After a good meal we headed downtown to play "Where's the new GS?" We were told that it was at the track on Thursday but by Friday morning at 11 it was gone. It was to be the featured guest at the BMW party that evening and I guess they wanted to make sure it was locked away in the hotel plenty early.

New this year was the BMW MOA booth at BMW Motorcycles of Daytona. I stopped in for a short shift Friday afternoon before heading north to the IBA Dinner.

Ray Zimmerman, myself and VP Deb Lower

When we returned to the campground our neighbor had a trophy to display. He had taken his absolutely stunning red R69 down to the Volusia County Fairgrounds and come home with best of show.

Phillip Vinson and his award winning R69

Friday evening we headed north to the IBA dinner. Many of the people in the campground headed down to Daytona Beach for the BMW party. This made for a late evening in the campground with many fires and merriment. The weather continued to be fantastic with close to a full moon and no clouds it was easy to move about without a flashlight.

Saturday we packed up and headed down to the track. We said goodbye to Holiday Park as we planned on staying at the home of a fellow Yankee Beemer before heading home early Sunday morning. We took the truck and party gear to the infield where we met up with Jon Hornbarger.

After learning all about skin cancer last summer I was making some effort at staying out of the sun as much as possible.
Once again the weather was fantastic for racing and hanging out.

I was even able to sneak a photo of a hot girl, take a look:

We even saw some racing. The difference between the boxer cup bikes and the "real" race bikes is amazing. We saw much less braking from the BC riders.

First lap leaders

After the races we went over to Jon's house for a BBQ. The evening was a great way to end a fantastic week of good times with great people. The highlight of the evening was asking the hostess (around midnight) how many were staying for the night. She replied "all of them plus a few that have yet to arrive. Claim your floor space now." There were over 17 bikes in the driveway plus a few cars. A great time was had by all.

Sunday morning we hit the road early, by Sunday evening it was snowing lightly. We took a break for much needed rest and continued on Monday. Unlike last year we had incredible weather. Right when I started thinking that perhaps I shoulda / coulda ridden this is what we found.

We were around 250 miles from home when traffic stopped and the ice started. While I prefer to ride as much as anyone, once in a while a great time can be had using alternative transportation.

Can't decide which shot I like most

The provocative foot/ankle shot OR the equally provocative shot of the eggs benedict! (I AM getting old).
Thanks for sharing.
Could it be that the boxer cup folks brake less because of the superb (IMHO) engine braking one gets from the boxer motor? I really notice it when I ride alongside one of my brothers on their jap bikes (one has a Honda and the other a Kaw). If we are side by side and both let off the gas, my bike slows down much faster than either of theirs if no one is applying any brakes. It took a little while to get used to it, but I would not have it any other way.

Great Report

Well, it started out coldish 38* thursday morning Feb 26 when I left Chicago and hit some rain in Nashville around 6pm that nite. That was the same rain that dumped all that snow on Georgia and the Carolinas. Finally made it to Alabama that night. Next day 33* F am and wet roads, and the bike "dead". Abdul the owner of the "Holiday Fleabag Inn" gave me a jump and I was on my way. I guess I cant't run 'lectric jacket,pants,hand grips, and "big" fog lights all at the same time,I slowly sucked the battery dry of power. Oh well...
Later that day,I made it 70 miles past Tallahassee Florida. That friday evening around 5pm is when the trans deceided to give out and die!.... Waited on the side of the road in the dark till 10:30pm when a tow truck finally showed up. So here I am on a two lane highway out in the middle of no-where, or Perry Florida with a dead horse and cell signals as strong as a blade of grass. The tow driver was very cool and his "Drunk" wife well,she was something else. I helped him load up my bike without any incident. I said I needed to be towed to the BMW dealer in Tallahassee. He was familiar with the area.
Got to bed in another flea bag Inn around 1am.
The BMW joint opened around 8am and I was there around 8:10am. Told my story to the mechanic and owner of what had happened. Two mechanics quickly tore down bike to find what they thought was the problem. Now that's service! They said clutch, and with all the oil leakage around the rear of the bike,the rear trans seal was also bad. They finally finished putting bike back together around 1:30pm. Mechanic took bike out for test ride and reported no 3rd or 5th gears. Oh, and they didn't replace the bad seal cuz they didn't have one. There's more to the story and I'll keep that for the campfire.
It was like walking on eggshells the whole time I was there, and really couldn't wait till I got outta there.
So now after the mechanic says no 3rd or 5th gear, I loaded up the bike anyway and said I'll do my best to get to a friends house in Crystal River area,4 hours away futher south. I didn't go 1 mile when my leg was soaked from sprewing trans oil and the shift lever fell off hanging. I kept the bike going in 4th gear and made it back to the shop. There standing in the parking lot was the whole gang watching me. After I explained that the shifter fell off while trying to down shift, they brought the bike back inside to repair. The excuse for that happening was lame,very lame. Anyhow, I grabbed my cell phone and called a rental car company. I loaded up my gear and drove down to the Crystal River area around 7pm. Here I visited my buddy who I worked with for 5 years until an injury forced him into early retirement. Saturday nite at his house I called all the car truck rental companys. No pickup in the whole state to be rented, let alone rented one way to Chicago. A big van or commerical sized moving truck/van was way to expensive. My friends wife went on line and got me an airline ticket to Chicago leaving sunday nite around 6pm from Tallahassee,Florida. I got into Chicago around 9pm sunday nite. Next morning monday, I grabbed my pickup and headed south to Florida to get my bike. Again rain in Tennesse. I made it to the BMW dealer in Tallahassee by 10:30 am tuesday morning. Loaded up the bike and drove home. Rain
again in Tennesse, with clouds and cool temperatures. Got home wednesday around noon. Wednesday night I pulled the transmission and the next day found a used one from a guy in Chicago. While pulling the trans, the Florida BMW mechanics screwed up my shifter bolt threads,found two trans bolts and others loose.
Thursday I installed the used trans. Today friday the 5th,everything is back together in order, and so far with the 3 little test rides, everything is "A-OK"!!! So that was my little vacation. All in all, the weather down in Florida and south Alabama was supurb!!!!!!!!!!! 80's!!!!!!!!!!
Having been to bike week many many times since the late '70's,missing it this year was really no big deal.
And if not for the trans mishap, the bike ran perfectly...